Deadly Vice
by Glamoured By-Eric
Summary: SVM/Miami Vice crossover: Sookie Stackhouse, recruited to the Metro Dade Vice task force, works with Sonny Crockett to investigate load hijacking, cartel deaths & mysterious activities at Club Thor in South Dade.
1. Chapter 1

**Deadly Vice**

**AR/AT - An SVM / Miami Vice Crossover**

**Chapter 1**

**Miami, Florida 1985**

Thanksgiving was a holiday for family and friends. Traditionally, it was a time to give thanks for the things in your life that were going well. Families would roast the big bird and add all the trimmings and side dishes, watch parades and football or take an after meal nap, sliding into a blissful, turkey and pumpkin pie a la mode-induced coma.

It should have been just another holiday where she'd gone home to Louisiana to see her gran and her brother. Wasn't it enough that she had just broken up a huge drug operation by going undercover for three damn months?

Sookie Stackhouse was fuming that she had been called back in to work on yet another op when she had her heart and taste buds set on a drum stick. Mr. Parker's disappointed despair in "A Christmas Story," after the dogs had run off with his turkey, ran through her head. "No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE!"

She definitely could relate.

As she pulled into the parking lot, on her way to meet the other members of the newly formed task force, she was cut off by a hot shot in a black convertible. She stomped on her brake petal and came to a screeching halt. Calming her breathing after the near collision, she watched him pull into the spot where she had planned to park. The guy practically leapt out of his car, slamming the door of his black 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder, and headed straight for her.

"Hey lady, watch where you're going!" exclaimed Detective James "Sonny" Crockett with an angry glare. "I just waxed my car, sweetheart. Am I going to have to write you up?"

The only asshole that Sookie had been planning on interacting with for Thanksgiving was the tail end of a turkey. She took a few deep breaths, then exhaled heavily and glared back. She got out of her car, slamming her door in kind, and glaring at him, said, "First of all, I am not your sweetheart, and quite frankly, I suggest you write one for yourself up."

"Excuse me? What did you just say to me?" asked Crockett, confrontationally, as he put his hands in his pockets, moving his head toward her.

_Man, this chick is askin' for trouble. Who does she think she is?_

"You heard me, mister," she spouted back, his thoughts not doing anything to cool her down. "Failure to signal. Reckless endangerment. Being a jackass. Take your pick!"

As she spoke, she couldn't help but notice that he was rather easy on the eyes even with all the beard stubble. She was nothing if not observative. His healthy tan set off his white Italian blazer, skin tight, coral T-shirt, and white linen slacks. She was astounded that he wasn't wearing any socks with his pull-on loafers.

_Do people here do that? _she wondered. _I bet it makes his shoes stink_.

Sonny removed his Ray-Bans, as he moved in front of her, and tucked one side piece in the neck of his T-shirt so that the folded glasses hung onto the front. He slowly looked at her from head to toe, noting that the sassy, little lady in question, was young and hadn't really taken much care of her appearance by Miami standards. Her blonde hair was piled on top of her head and the butt ugly, black glasses she was wearing were as effective a repellent to him as Raid was for bugs.

_Not much to look at. Definitely not a beauty queen. Probably couldn't get a date from any of the jerk offs in Metro Dade. I wonder what she's doing here on a holiday and where she's from. That accent is certainly a little farther west of here._

_He is just plain rude! _she thought.

"You don't want to mess with me today, lady. I just got called into work, and it's my day off. So don't bust my chops! Just watch it next time."

What she wanted to do was cuff him and haul his ass into the station, but she forced herself to calm down by closing her eyes and trying to block out his thoughts.

_Is she not playing with a full deck? Is she going to pass out on me here? What the hell is she doing?_

When his thoughts were finally blocked, Sookie felt him grab her arm. Instinct and training took over. She opened her eyes, unlocked his hold on her with a sweep of her other arm, and had him face down on the hood of her car with his arm bent up toward his neckline, at an uncomfortable angle, as she cuffed him.

He couldn't have been more surprised if she had shot him. "What the hell? I'm a cop, lady. You can't do this."

She replied as she hauled him up and started heading toward the building with him in tow. "Well, it appears I can. By the way, you have the right to remain silent."

"You have got to be shitting me. You're arrestin' me?" he asked, incredulously.

She just smiled back and said, "That's right, sweetheart."

_**** A short time later ****_

"I'm telling you, Switek. She is a certifiable whack job! She actually slapped cuffs on me," he said, rubbing his wrists, as laughter filled the room. "It was fuckin' humiliating. You should have seen the desk sergeant just laughing his ass off. I will never hear the end of this. Thank God Rico is in New York until after the holidays, or I'd be hearing about it from him, too."

"Aw, Sonny. You let a little ol' girl like that get the best of you? You poor thing," teased Gina Calabrese, placing her hand on Sonny's unshaven chin. Though they were no longer involved, Gina and Sonny had been an item for a while until he rolled over in bed and called out his ex-wife's name as he snuggled into her.

"I'd have given anything to have had eyes on you out there, Sonny. Heh, heh, heh. Blackmail footage!" said Stan Switek, chuckling loudly as he rubbed his hands together.

"Don't bust my balls, Switek. I've got plenty on you. Just who in this room not only impersonates the King, but swears up and down that he spotted him in town the other night?"

"Hey, I did see him. I told you that I just woke up around midnight, where I'd dozed off in the bug mobile, saw him running after his cat, and calling, 'Here kitty, kitty.' I swear it on a stack of bibles. It was him. If there is one thing I know, it is the King. When I looked away for a minute to grab my surveillance camera and then looked back up, he was gone. Don't know how he could've moved so fast."

"See," said Crockett with a smile, as Trudy and Gina laughed.

The door opened, and Lieutenant Martin Castillo, wearing his usual stoic scowl, black suit, white shirt and black tie, entered the room carrying a stack of case files, and closed the door behind him.

"Hey, Lieutenant!" Crockett called out. "Why did you call us all in on Thanksgiving? Elvis and I were just about to eat a mess of fish. You know he gets cranky and starts pulling on his chain when his dinner is late."

"What, Sonny, no turkey? It's Thanksgiving! Didn't anyone invite you for dinner?" teased Trudy Joplin. Trudy was of African-American descent and had been Gina's partner for a number of years.

"If you are all finished, we have a case that just might be bigger than anything we've come across before," Castillo stated, setting down the load of files on the conference table and looking at each of his subordinates as he straightened his tie. "I'm creating a special interagency task force on this one. Since we are short-staffed, I've requested that two additional detectives be allocated to this task force. We have a Detective Stackhouse on loan from the undercover drug task force. She's risen fast in the ranks and is an excellent undercover operative. I'm told that she has an uncanny ability of getting into people's heads and seeing what makes them tick. She's been involved in a number of major busts. The other, Detective Bellefleur, just made his shield and will be partnering with Switek. Detective Stackhouse will be working with Crockett."

"What! You want me to partner with some chick? I'd rather work with Gina. At least I know her. Can't she work with Trudy?" asked Crockett.

The lieutenant just stared down Crockett until Crockett finally said resignedly, "All right, I'll do it. It doesn't mean I have to like it." He ran his hand through his hair—which fell perfectly back into place—and then continued, "What are we looking at, Lieutenant?"

"Prostitution, drug trafficking, money laundering, and we suspect that the number of unexplained disappearances of certain drug cartel members that we've been seeing in South Dade are a result of the same operation."

"Do we have any leads?" asked Switek.

"We have an informant. She's a prostitute who works out of..."

"Are you talking about Ginger? The one we busted yesterday? She was pretty strung out when we brought her in," interrupted Gina. "She was babbling all kinds of crazy things."

"We are giving some of those 'crazy things' merit. We're putting her under protective custody. If this is as big as I think it is, her life is in danger. Gina, Trudy, you are on protective detail tonight. I want you to escort her to the safe house. Switek, you and Bellefleur will set up surveillance outside the club."

"Okay, boss. You got it," said Switek.

There was a knock on the door, and Castillo walked to the door and opened it, revealing two people. As they entered the room, Castillo said, "Everyone. I'd like you to meet our other two task force members, Detectives Bellefleur and Stackhouse."

Sonny had opened one of the case files while all this took place, letting the conversation dissolve into background buzz, but went still when he heard, "Thank you, Lieutenant. I'm happy to be here."

Sonny's head shot up, and his mouth fell open. It was the blonde from the parking lot. "Oh no. No way! No! Not her!" he exclaimed pushing his chair back and standing up.

She said, "Shoot!" Then she plastered a smile on her face, and walking forward, she stuck her hand out to Sonny and said, "Sonny Crockett, right? I'm Sookie Stackhouse. Nice to meet you. Officially, that is."

Sonny ignored it and glared at her. Castillo kept Sonny from saying anything further by saying, "Stackhouse, you and Crockett will be going to the club tonight posing as a couple. I want you to check it out. Get the feel of the place. The owner fancies himself a ladies' man, so do what you can to attract his attention, Stackhouse. Mingle. Watch. Observe."

_There ain't no fuckin' way I am going to work with her._

"The place is called Club Thor. It opens at dusk. The owner is one Eric Northman. Not a lot is known about Northman. He didn't even exist on paper before moving here and opening the club. I've done some preliminary work and found out that he has an offshore account in the Caymans, filtering through several corporations. The bulk of the money is the account for a subsidiary corporation called Valhalla, Inc. He also has money in Switzerland. He is rich, connected, and from all accounts, he is utterly ruthless."

"A word, Lieutenant," said Sonny as he walked over to Castillo. "Just how is she going to blend into a hip club. Look at her. She looks like someone's grandmother with that bun. Look at the way she's dressed and those glasses, for God's sake."

Stackhouse made a little noise, turned as if she were going to leave, and simply took off her jacket, setting it on the chair, along with her glasses, keeping her back to the others gathered in the room. She unbuttoned her blouse enough to show her push-up bra, then reached up to adjust her hair. She pulled the sticks out and leaned forward, shaking it out as it fell down. Then running her fingers through her locks, she came back up, and she was all hair. Ready, she turned slowly around so that the men in the room would get the full effect of her transformation. She gave them a sultry look, raised her leg up until it rested on a chair, and ran her fingers along her leg from the ankle upward.

_Fuck! Stackhouse, heh, heh. I'd like to stand under her awning and admire the view. She must be at least a D cup._

_Jesus H. Christ, will you look at that!_

_Well, I'll be damned! Look what was hiding under that bun and jacket all along._

_Shit! I'll never get another chance with Sonny with her around._

_Mmmm... hmmmm. Poor Gina._

She winced at all the thoughts, frowning a little when she didn't get a full fix on the lieutenant's, then said, raising her eyebrow, "You were saying?"

"I guess I'm going to have to eat my words," said Sonny, swallowing hard. He walked across the room, positioned himself directly in front of her, and continued, "I'll work with you on three conditions. One, no more kung fu moves. Two, leave your cuffs in your purse. Three, I'm driving. Got that, sweetheart?"

"Okay, I'll agree to that, but I have a condition of my own," she said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Stop calling me sweetheart, or I'll forget about conditions one and two."

"Heh, heh," he chuckled, in full womanizing mode, gave her a shit-eating grin, and continued. "We're going to get along just fine, blondie."

** tbc **

A/N: Yes, I did go here. *hides head in shame* I've been listening to my "Definitely Miami (Vice)" playlist too much, and it inspired a dream that had me waking up laughing. So, here is a little holiday story inspired by a silly dream that will hopefully give you a laugh or two. For those of you who were a bit young for Miami Vice, there are episodes of the show available on Hulu. It was a groundbreaking show from the mid-80s. One of the first shows to have a stereo soundtrack, it featured music of the day by the artists who recorded them. If you need musical inspiration, visit YouTube. Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

**Deadly Vice**

**Chapter 2 (Miami - 1985)**

"Did you locate Ginger yet?" asked Eric Northman, lifting his blood-stained T-shirt over his head and tossing it aside.

Eric Northman was quite tall, towering over most men with his commanding presence as well as his height. He looked like the millennial blond Viking that he was, with long, thick hair flowing over his shoulders and down his back. The eyes, blue and piercing, were what caught and captivated the casual observer, belying the appearance of youth with the wisdom of centuries of night.

From his broad shoulders to his tapered waist, women of all ages found him overwhelmingly sexy whether he glamoured them or not. Why wouldn't they? There was not an ounce of spare flesh on him. Whether he was seeing to his business or sitting in his favorite booth, looking over the crowd, the owner of the newly opened club was one of the largest draws to the highly popular bar.

"No, but I suspect she is either dead or was picked up for hooking again," replied Pam.

"That would be most… inopportune," he replied, as he pulled a black T-shirt from the closet and donned it, smoothing it down over his tight, muscular torso.

"I know. I do not wish to relocate again so soon. Although Miami is not as entertaining as New York, I like it here despite the drugs overrunning this place," she replied as she bent over the human on the floor and swiped her finger across the wounds on the neck. "Did he know anything?"

"Sadly, no," he replied, glancing her way. "He has outlived his usefulness."

As she placed her bloody finger into her mouth and rolled her eyes in pleasure, Eric smiled. "There is a bit left, if you want him."

"Don't mind if I do," she said as she knelt down, bit into his wrist and began drinking from him while Eric looked on.

"I'd like you to fill in for Caitlin tonight, Pam. She felt a bit... drained last night after her set. I've given her the night off to recuperate."

Pam glared at him as she continued sucking on the man's wrist.

"Pam!" he admonished when he saw her look. "You know this is good for business, and we are a dancer short."

As she finished, she stood up, licked her lips, and said, "You are just doing this to piss me off!"

"No, I am not. You bring in a lot of clients and tips when you dance. We've talked about this, remember? You are a very beautiful woman. It is one of the reasons I chose to turn you. The men like you. I _like_ you," he said, moving in and leaning down to nuzzle her neck. "You will do it for me, won't you, Pam?"

"Stop! You know I hate it when you do that to try and distract me when we are having a disagreement," she said, brushing him away.

"I was unaware that we were having a disagreement," responded Eric, with one corner of his mouth turned up.

"If I do it for anyone, I'll do it because _I_ want to," snapped Pam as she moved toward the door.

"Pam? Aren't you forgetting something?"

She turned around, placed her hands on her hips, and asked, "What could I possibly be forgetting?"

Eric lifted his eyebrow and moved his head in the direction of the body.

Pam rolled her eyes at Eric, and as she walked back, bending over the body again to lift it up, Eric tossed his bloody T-shirt at her, and it hit her in the face. She gave Eric a dirty look, used the T-shirt to wipe up any spare blood drops, and flinging the dead weight over her shoulder, she moved toward the door.

Eric grinned and said, "Pam? Regarding Ginger, send Longshadow in. He and I need to have a little talk."

He heard her mutter, reverting to her British accent, "Blood-y hell."

_**** A few minutes later...***__*_

"You sent for me, Eric?" said Longshadow, closing the door behind him. "We're kind of busy at the bar."

Eric was leaning back, half sitting against the edge of his desk with his arms and legs crossed in front of him. "I hear that your plaything disappeared. I thought that she had been glamoured properly."

"She was, but she's pretty used up. There is not much left to work with," claimed Longshadow. It was a lame excuse, and both of them knew it.

Eric moved quickly, asserting his authority over his minion, and backhanded Longshadow, causing him to fly across the room and hit the wall, making an impression in the drywall, then watched him fall to the floor onto his knees. It had been a long time coming as far as Eric was concerned.

Longshadow looked up, growling deeply from his throat, and with his face in a snarl, he lunged at Eric.

Eric caught him deftly by the neck with one hand and hissed down at Longshadow. Getting his fangs close to his subordinate's face, he said forcefully, "Don't you do it. You work for me. You do whatever I ask you to do. I own you until your debt to me is fulfilled. You should have taken care of the matter and disposed of the body. We simply can not have anyone or anything jeopardizing our life here. I have worked too hard to establish this business, and I need to know that those who owe their allegiance to me will not expose us to the humans. That includes you. That is what we have done for centuries. Is that understood?"

Longshadow was struggling against Eric's vice-like grip but managed to nod. Eric released him, sayin, "Find her. Deal with it. Humans don't know about the supernatural world except as myths and Hollywood fantasies. I have no wish to enlighten them. I have become rather fond of sailing again even if I have to do it at night. Do not disappoint me."

"I'll see to it," replied Longshadow begrudgingly, rubbing his neck and glaring at Eric in defiance.

"By the way, when is the next shipment due in?" inquired Eric quite casually as if nothing had just happened between them.

"Two this morning by sea plane. We'll take the load, move it onto the Stinger 390s and take it to the warehouse as usual," responded Longshadow in kind.

"Good, I want no trouble over this. By the way, I heard that Alvarez met an unfortunate accident under the full moon."

Longshadow gave Eric a toothy grin and said, "Yes, I heard that his neck was severed by a propeller blade from his own boat. Horrible blood loss."

"Yes, I did read about that in the paper. Amazingly, most of the blood was not found around his body. 'Bled out into the ocean,' they say," smirked Eric, crinkling his eyes and nose up. "How was he?"

Longshadow grinned, as he moved toward the office door. "Tasty and begging for his life. At least I assume he was. Kind of difficult to tell what he was saying with him gurgling the way he was."

Eric laughed as the door closed. Longshadow did have his uses even though he was not a vampire. He had originally hired two-natured Longshadow to tend bar for him and act as a bouncer for the club. He was a draw for his customers as well as being useful during the day while they were at rest.

Eric smiled, remembering the night that he had caught Longshadow stealing from the bar. Instead of killing him outright, Longshadow had bargained with him to work off his debt, and Eric had milked that for all it was worth. Longshadow had regretted his bargain ever since, but he was too useful to Eric to end their arrangement unless Longshadow crossed him again.

Picking up his medium blue Armani jacket, he slid it on over his black T-shirt and black linen slacks. Looking in the mirror, he grabbed his brush and ran it through his hair. Occasionally, he wore it tied back at his neck or braided, but he left it loose tonight since he was still a little hungry and more than a little horny.

Women loved his hair loose. He had been told that he should audition for a rock band since he had the 'rock' look. Even more so now after Pam had given him a volumizer shampoo. He smiled at himself in the mirror, thinking that he would never be caught teasing up his hair and wearing makeup like some of the popular band members were known to do. Smoothing a stray hair into place, he walked to the door and went out into the club.

Eric was proud of his success with this business venture. One side of the club was set up strip club-style, and the other side had a dance floor and a stage for live music. He was bringing in Miami Sound Machine on Saturday night at Pam's suggestion. Pam rather liked the lead singer.

At a movement behind him, Eric felt a hand snake under his jacket and lightly fondle his backside. He turned around expecting one of the regulars but found himself staring down at a homely transvestite dressed in a chartreuse, sequined dress, and wearing a hideous wig. Her over-the-top makeup topped anything Tammy Fae had ever adorned herself with on the PTL Club program that he'd had the misfortune to catch a glimpse of one night.

"Remove your hand," Eric said, lowering his voice to let her know that he meant business.

She quickly removed her hand and backed off. Eric turned to continue on his way, but had a quick thought. Eric turned back around and said, "Why don't you try the bartender? You might have better luck with him."

Eric watched her look at Longshadow, taking in his bulging, tattoed biceps and pecs and his smooth, hard, hairless torso.

"Um. Um. I will baby, I will."

He watched her as she sashayed over to the bar and saw the look on Longshadow's face as she moved toward him with a purpose. Eric laughed, and a few people around him turned to look at him.

Still smiling and skirting the edge of the dance floor, Eric eased his six foot four frame into his private booth. The booth that he had chosen for his own was in a strategic location so that he had a view of most of the activities including the scene through the glass doorway into the strip club half of the business. He lazily surveyed the crowd, looking for someone or something to relieve his boredom.

None of the regulars appealed to Eric. He was looking for a fresh face, one untasted by him or any of the other vampires under his employ. His eyes came to rest on a possible candidate in a black dress. _No_, he thought. It was more than black. As she shifted her stance from one foot to the other, he could see that there was red underlying the black.

The blonde woman's neck was bared on one side as she stood in front of the bar, waiting for Longshadow. The slight straps holding up her dress laid her back and shoulders open to Eric's gaze as he studied her movements like a predator lying in wait for his prey.

Concentrating, he tried to influence her to look at him and frowned when it didn't seem to work. She didn't even look his way. He tried again, saw that she stiffened slightly and shivered as she turned to look to the right and to the left of her, then glanced around the room slowly as if she were searching for someone she knew.

When the man standing next to her spoke, Eric watched her warily respond to him with the familiarity of a confiding nature, and he realized that she was not alone.

_That just won't do_, he thought and caught Longshadow's eye, giving a nearly imperceptible eye motion to the woman in question, and saw Longshadow nod in understanding as he extricated himself from Miss Chartreuse to head over to the couple.

"How intriguing," Eric said to himself, with his mouth turning up on the left side as he continued watching the subject of interest. "A challenge."

_**** An hour earlier...****_

Though her apartment wasn't much to look at, Sookie had taken special care of her own appearance for her night out doing surveillance with Sonny. She had purchased a dress, half off, during last year's Black Friday sales. With spaghetti straps and a deep plunging neckline that accentuated her best assets, the empire waist sported a black fabric belt just under the bust which tied in back. Landing mid-thigh lengthwise, the dress was deep red with an overlying length of black laced fabric. She wore a pair of red and black high-heeled shoes to show off her legs and dabbed a touch of perfume behind her ears, on her wrists, and her cleavage. Not too much but enough to entice a man when he made an approach.

As she looked in the mirror, she fixed her long, blonde hair so that it hung on the left side of her head in waves, and pulling back her hair on the other side, she placed a red clip to keep the hair up so that her ear and neck were exposed on that side. She decided to wear her diamond and ruby earrings that her gran had given her as a gift at a milestone moment in her life. She thought it was fitting that she wear them since she rarely had an opportunity to do that these days. That's what happens when a person tends to be married to a job.

"Take that, Detective Crockett," she said with a smirk to her reflection. "You'll be eating your words."

Sookie wasn't particularly vain, but she did know when she looked good. She walked out into her living room just as the doorbell rang. As she opened the door, she noticed, with considerable satisfaction, that Sonny was stunned and staring slack-jawed at her.

_Completely speechless is good on him_, she thought.

Realizing that he was rudely gaping at her, he recovered and said, "Damn, blondie! You look tasty enough to eat."

_God, would you look at those. They're just begging for attention. If she wasn't my partner, I'd have that dress off of her and would take my time making her scream my name. I need a fucking cold shower._

Sometimes being able to read other people's minds was a royal pain for Sookie. "I so did not need to hear that," she said, her eyes narrowing at him.

"What'd I say? I was paying you a compliment," explained Sonny in surprise.

"Oh just shut up."

"Geez, lady. Lighten up. What's got your panties in a wad?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Uh huh. I've been married and divorced, sister. I know when a woman says 'nothing' in that tone of voice, then it is always something. So what gives?"

Sookie locked her front door and pulled it forcefully closed. As she started walking to his car, she again heard his thoughts.

_What is with her tonight. What did I say? I just love the way her ass moves when she walks. Perfect ass. Bet she looks great without the clothes._

She spun around and demanded with her hands clenched at her side, "Stop looking at my ass!"

_Hell, did she just read my mind?_

She walked over to the passenger side of Sonny's black car, got in and slammed the door. Sonny ran his hand through his hair, walked to his side of the car and got in beside her.

"Listen, I know we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. We've just started this op, and we need to be able to count on each other. Be honest with one another. What gives?" he asked again.

Sookie sighed resignedly and looked over at him. "Oh shoot!"

"Out with it, blondie."

"I'm telepathic. Okay? I can read people's minds."

_I knew it!_

"Yes, I know. I heard."

_You have got to be kidding me. _"Perfect. Just perfect. Now I have to sensor my thoughts when I'm around you," he said aloud.

"Pretty much. Though it does come in handy during a shootout. It also comes in handy when you have insight on a suspect that we are interrogating or when we are undercover. You can relay your suspicions or ideas to me without anyone but me knowing about it just by thinking it."

_That sure as hell could come in handy._

The notion pleased Sonny, and he smiled. "Alright then. Let's go catch some bad guys."

** tbc **

A/N: Something to help with story visualization.

Sookie's dress - red instead of fuchsia as pictured: www(dot)casual-plus(dot)com/items/dresses/big/drs-dor-d837-fuchsia-z(dot)jpg

Yes, I made Longshadow two-natured instead of a vampire.


	3. Chapter 3

**Deadly Vice**

**Chapter 3 (Miami - 1985)**

As Sookie and Sonny walked into the club, they looked slowly around. "Blood and Roses" by the Smithereens was reverberating throughout the club. Everywhere they looked the occupants were dressed mostly in black and red, and many appeared as if they had dressed for a horror fest or a costume ball. Crocket just shook his head slowly.

"Jesus. Would you look at this freak show? These clowns must not have checked their calendars lately, because I'm pretty sure that Halloween was last month."

"Very funny. Maybe you should have sent them a memo," Sookie smirked at him.

"Right," he answered, sarcastically.

"By the way, does Stan always use that hideous bug van? Is that what he calls being low profile? That stands out like a sore thumb."

"Oh yeah. Stan's a real uptown kind of guy. First class all the way."

"Right," Sookie answered in the same tone that Sonny had used earlier.

"Why don't I buy you a drink?" Sonny suggested as they moved toward the bar.

"Alright. Dr. Pepper, if they have it."

They both turned their attention to the shirtless bartender, who had long black hair that was parted on the right side, standing in front of them. He was sporting a gold earring in his left ear and two gold chains around his neck. Wearing blue jeans and a black leather vest, the bartender was drawing a draft for another customer while his eyes shifted hungrily to Sookie's cleavage. He lifted his head slightly as if he was sniffing the air. When he was finished with his customer, he came over to stand in front of Sonny and Sookie and asked, "What can I get you?"

Sookie looked at the tattoos on his upper arms and noticed the two on his front torso as she strained to listen to his thoughts. By the way he was leering at her, she should have been hearing plenty but instead all she got was just a few flashes. She looked at him through squinty eyes as she tried again to listen in, but was twice disappointed by the results. As Sonny ordered for both of them, she realized that she was now noticing other odd things in the room behind her.

Sookie turned toward the crowd and began to concentrate on their thoughts. As she listened, she noticed something odd. There were several individuals in the crowd that she couldn't get a fix on. It was almost like the memory game where they passed a tray of objects around the room and then asked everyone what was on the tray and very few could remember everything that was on the tray. In this case, she was seeing the people, but when she closed her eyes, the mind signatures were not matching what she was seeing visually.

Feeling a slight pull, she felt her nipples go erect as she shivered as she looked around wildly.

"What is it, blondie? What's got you so spooked?" asked Sonny as he leaned in closer so she could hear him over the music.

"There is something wrong here, Sonny," she replied, a little shaken. "I can't hear everyone."

Sonny looked serious. "You mean you can't, you know?" he questioned.

"Yeah. I can hear everyone except for a few people in this bar. It is like they have no brain waves."

"Do you think that maybe some recreational substance is fucking with your chi?" asked Sonny.

Sookie turned back around toward the bar and answered, "I don't know. This is unusual for me. I mean... I've been around people who were high before and didn't have this kind of problem. I just don't get it."

"Here you are, beautiful," said Longshadow, handing her a Dr. Pepper and sliding Sonny's drink, a club soda, toward him. "No charge for the lady. Tonight is ladies night."

"Oh really," said Sonny, squaring up in front of the bartender. "Eyes off of my date, pal."

"Sonny, please. Don't embarrass me again," Sookie entreated, getting into the act.

A woman stumbled into Sonny just then, spilling her drink on his sleeve. "Damn it! Watch where you are going!"

Sookie watched the woman who appeared to be in some kind of stupor, snap to herself and sway a bit. Sonny caught her as she started to collapse and got her to a bar stool and helped her sit as Sookie moved to her other side.

"Lady, are you okay?" asked Sonny, concern finally showing on his face.

The bartender had a glass of orange juice in front of the woman before anyone could say, "Boo." When both Sonny and Sookie looked at him, he said matter-of-factly, "She has a problem with low blood sugar. She needs orange juice. This has happened before."

Sookie looked at the bartender in a speculative manner and then looked at the young woman who was sipping on her orange juice, holding the glass with shaky hands. She helped the woman steady her glass until half the contents had been consumed and then listened in to her thoughts.

_How did I get over here? Why can't I remember what I was doing earlier? I know I was in the ladies room. Who is this woman?_

There was a hole in the woman's brain. A blank spot. Sookie looked up at Sonny and gestured with her head.

_You want to talk to her alone?_

When Sookie nodded imperceptibly, Sonny said, "I'm going to the men's room to see if I can get the stain off my jacket. Will you be okay here for a few, blondie?"

"Of course, Sonny. I just want to make sure that she's okay," Sookie replied, noticing the scarf tied around the woman's neck. It seemed rather out of place with what she was wearing. "What's your name?" Sookie asked when Sonny was gone.

"Desireé," she answered. "Who are you?"

"My name's Sookie. What happened to you?"

"I had to pee so I went to the ladies room. That's the last thing I remember. I don't even remember ordering another drink."

When Sonny left to take care of his jacket, Longshadow looked at Eric and moved his eyes in Sookie's direction. Eric eased himself out of his booth and made his way through the crowd toward the bar. Instead of his usually bored visage, he felt a sense of excitement at this new distraction which he wasn't quite able to hide.

"What's going on?" asked Eric, leaning slightly over the counter as the music changed to "Wild Boys" by Duran Duran.

Longshadow lowered his voice and said, "Clancy. He fed on Desiree and took a little too much. She nearly collapsed. I gave her some juice, and the blonde over there is questioning her. Told her that Desireé has a low blood sugar problem."

"Indeed," said Eric, raising his left eyebrow. "Good thinking. Did you get her name?"

"Sookie. The guy who came in with her is Sonny. Never seen them in here before."

"Oh yes. I definitely would have remembered her."

"There's something else," said Longshadow. "Clancy mentioned that there has been a van parked outside the club. Some kind of a pesticide company. He thinks we are under surveillance."

"Is that so," said Eric, not sounding a bit worried. He had heard the last bit of Sookie and Desireé's conversation as Sookie asked, "Were you taking anything?"

"No," Desireé replied. "I never touch the stuff."

Eric moved the short distance and inquired in his business-like voice, "Might I be of assistance? I own this club."

Sookie had noticed him, talking to the bartender, and had trouble taking her eyes off him. She felt her own heart skip a beat as she saw his gaze fix on her and flushed to the roots at what she saw. Her heart skipped another beat when she saw walking towards her as Desireé answered. He was simply and utterly gorgeous.

Her reaction to him was immediate and intense, actually feeling her hands itching to move up and wind themselves in his mane of long hair. She wondered what her gran would think of all the carnal thoughts that were running through her head at that moment and reigned herself in a bit when she realized that he was her assignment and not a potential lover. She was a professional and would not keep staring into his mesmerizing blue eyes.

His business-like voice had a lilt to it, which she picked up on, and she wondered where he was from. When she concentrated at him, she realized that his thoughts were a blank to her, just like the bartender's. _Interesting, _she thought_._

They were staring at each other, each trying to sum the other up, and both wished the rest of the crowd to hell.

Sookie responded, "Yes, you can call a taxi for Desireé. She isn't feeling very well. I don't think she can drive."

"Of course," Eric replied, never taking his eyes from Sookie's. "Longshadow, would you call a taxi for Miss LaRue?"

Longshadow nodded and picked up the phone.

"And you are... ?" Sookie inquired.

"Northman. Eric Northman," he smiled at Sookie, turning on his charm as he leaned into the counter, resting his elbow on the bar. "Miss?"

"Stackhouse," she replied as she raised her eyebrows almost as a challenge to him.

"Are you here alone, Miss Stackhouse?" he asked playfully.

"Actually, I came with a date. He's in the men's room and should be back shortly," she replied, thinking that he was being very charming. No wonder he had the reputation of being a ladies man. He was smooth. Almost too smooth.

"How unfortunate... for me," he said, smiling. "Since you have had some misfortune since you arrived, drinks are on the house tonight."

"I thought this was ladies night. Aren't they already complimentary?"

Eric turned his eyes sideways to Longshadow, and Longshadow grinned. Eric turned his eyes back to Sookie and said, "I believe my bartender is quite taken with you, Miss Stackhouse, and has indulged himself by buying a beautiful woman a drink."

Sookie felt herself flush as Eric's eyes looked at her throat and moved up until he was staring into her eyes again.

_He thinks I'm beautiful_, she thought to herself. But really how would she even know? She couldn't hear him, but he was certainly looking at her like he did think so. She wondered how just one compliment and a look from him could cause this luscious response she was feeling in close proximity to him. It wasn't just that he was pleasing to the eye. She had just never felt this level of response in herself to anyone before.

She fought against her attraction and asked bluntly, "Do you allow drugs in your club, Mr. Northman? I'm asking because I think that someone slipped something into her drink."

He didn't even flinch when she asked him. "We do not. I can assure you that my employees and I find drug consumption of any kind by our customers quite... distasteful. No one here is allowed to take drugs, but they are free to drink all the alcohol they wish."

"Within limits, of course," Sookie stated.

"Of course. We always follow the letter of the law," he replied smoothly and smiled charmingly at her.

Longshadow interrupted, announcing that the taxi had arrived. Both Sookie and Eric escorted Desireé to the taxi. When they saw her safely inside with instructions to the driver, Eric turned to Sookie and stared at her intently. Again, she felt a pull and realized that he was somehow trying to influence her even though he had not laid a hand on her.

He moved in closer and suggested, "You want to dance with me, don't you?" His gaze on her was intense, and she swallowed hard but didn't break eye contact.

_Did he just give me an order? _she thought.

Sookie blinked and wondered what his problem was, then answered, "Does that line generally work for you, because it sounds a bit presumptuous to me. Almost like a command."

He looked startled because his glamour attempt had failed and then quickly composed himself saying, "I meant, would you do me the honor of dancing with me, Miss Stackhouse?"

"Out here?" she replied, looking around the parking lot. There were only a few people lingering outside the club.

"Why not?" he smirked. "We can still hear the music." As if on cue, Duran Duran's song was over and "Heaven" by Bryan Adams began to play. "Come on. Dance with me," he encouraged, taking her warm hand into his cool one. She shivered slightly as he moved in closer, and his arm encircled her waist.

She knew that she would be okay, because Stan and Andy were watching. She had to do this. It was her job, so she didn't protest further when she felt him pulling her into him.

As they began to slow dance together, Sookie felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her as his body molded to hers. She didn't exactly feel any heat coming from him, but felt that she was heated enough to warm both of them. She wondered who and what Eric Northman was though she didn't feel alarmed or threatened in any way. Something about him was just off though.

Eric was concerned that he couldn't glamour her and was surprised to find that he was even more intrigued. Smelling her perfume, he heard her heart speed up against him and heard the blood rushing through her veins. She smelled every bit as delicious as she looked, and he wanted to taste her as well as fuck her until dawn and not just tonight. He knew she wasn't immune to him and wondered what he was getting himself into. Especially now, after confirming for himself that there was a van parked outside the club. With her questions about drugs earlier, he suspected she was a cop.

_This is definitely going to be fun_, he thought as he moved his nose down to smell her freshly shampooed hair.

For the first time, Sookie had no idea what a man, that she was dancing with, a suspect at that, was thinking. She was in unchartered waters.

** tbc **


End file.
